Method and system for payment card authentication

ABSTRACT

Method and systems for securely and accurately authenticating a payment card by using biometric information associated with an authorized user is provided. The method may be implemented by providing a payment card that includes a processor; a display area coupled to the processor and configured to hide account information when the payment card has not been authenticated and to display the account information for a predetermined time interval when the payment card is authenticated; a sensor coupled to the processor and configured to capture biometric information of a user; and a communication interface coupled to the processor and configured to facilitate wireless communication with a mobile smart phone.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/173,168, filed Apr. 9, 2021, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

This technology generally relates to methods and systems forauthenticating a payment card, and more particularly to methods andsystems for securely and accurately authenticating a payment card byusing biometric information associated with an authorized user.

2. Background Information

Unauthorized and/or fraudulent use of payment cards is an ongoingproblem that causes a significant amount of financial loss to bothconsumers and financial institutions. Conventionally, many financialinstitutions use various strategies for fraud prevention, includingblocking an execution of a transaction that is deemed suspicious basedon a transaction history of a cardholder.

However, such strategies are limited in both security and accuracy. Withrespect to security, when an unauthorized user uses a payment card toconduct a transaction that is not deemed suspicious, the transactionwill not be blocked, thus facilitating the fraud. With respect toaccuracy, when an authorized user attempts to conduct a transaction thatis not fraudulent but appears to be suspicious, the transaction may beblocked, thereby causing unnecessary delay and inconvenience to thecardholder.

Accordingly, there is a need for a secure and accurate methodology forauthenticating a use of a payment card.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure, through one or more of its various aspects,embodiments, and/or specific features or sub-components, provides, interalia, various systems, servers, devices, methods, media, programs, andplatforms for securely and accurately authenticating a payment card byusing biometric information associated with an authorized user.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for securelyand accurately authenticating a payment card by using biometricinformation associated with an authorized user is provided. The methodis implemented by at least one processor. The method includes:receiving, by the at least one processor, a request for a proposedtransaction to be executed by using a payment card; capturing, by the atleast one processor, biometric information from a user; comparing, bythe at least one processor, the captured biometric information withstored information that relates to a predetermined person; when thecaptured biometric information is determined as matching the storedinformation, authenticating, by the at least one processor, a use of thepayment card for the proposed transaction; and when the capturedbiometric information is determined as not matching the storedinformation, denying, by the at least one processor, the request for theproposed transaction.

The capturing of the biometric information may include at least one fromamong capturing a fingerprint of the user, capturing a facial image ofthe user, capturing an iris scan of the user, capturing a heat signatureof the user, capturing a motion of the user, and capturing a relativeorientation of the user by using a gyroscope.

When the use of the payment card is authenticated, the method mayfurther include: causing the authentication to expire after anelapsement of a first predetermined time interval; and disabling the useof the payment card when the authentication has expired.

The method may further include receiving a user input that relates tospecifying an amount of time as the first predetermined time interval.

The method may further include: causing account information that relatesto the payment card to not be visible on a face of the payment card; andwhen the use of the payment card for the proposed transaction isauthenticated, causing the account information to be visible on the faceof the payment card for a second predetermined time interval.

The account information may include at least one from among a cardholdername, an account number, an expiration date of the payment card, and asecurity code associated with the payment card.

The second predetermined time interval may be less than or equal to 60seconds.

The method may further include comparing first account data stored on amobile smart phone with the account information that relates to thepayment card, and validating the first account data based on a result ofthe comparing.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a computing apparatus forauthenticating a payment card by using biometric information associatedwith an authorized user is provided. The computing apparatus includes aprocessor; a memory; and a communication interface coupled to each ofthe processor and the memory. The processor is configured to: receive,via the communication interface, a request for a proposed transaction tobe executed by using a payment card; capture biometric information froma user; compare the captured biometric information with storedinformation that relates to a predetermined person; when the capturedbiometric information is determined as matching the stored information,authenticate a use of the payment card for the proposed transaction; andwhen the captured biometric information is determined as not matchingthe stored information, deny the request for the proposed transaction.

The processor may be further configured to capture, as the biometricinformation, at least one from among a fingerprint of the user, a facialimage of the user, an iris scan of the user, a heat signature of theuser, a motion of the user, and a relative orientation of the user asindicated by a gyroscope.

When the use of the payment card is authenticated, the processor may befurther configured to: cause the authentication to expire after anelapsement of a first predetermined time interval; and disable the useof the payment card when the authentication has expired.

The processor may be further configured to receive, via thecommunication interface, a user input that relates to specifying anamount of time as the first predetermined time interval.

The processor may be further configured to: cause account informationthat relates to the payment card to not be visible on a face of thepayment card; and when the use of the payment card for the proposedtransaction is authenticated, cause the account information to bevisible on the face of the payment card for a second predetermined timeinterval.

The account information may include at least one from among a cardholdername, an account number, an expiration date of the payment card, and asecurity code associated with the payment card.

The second predetermined time interval may be less than or equal to 60seconds.

The processor may be further configured to: compare first account datastored on a mobile smart phone with the account information that relatesto the payment card; and validate the first account data based on aresult of the comparison.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a payment card for executinga transaction by using an account is provided. The payment cardincludes: a processor; a display area coupled to the processor andconfigured to hide account information when the payment card has notbeen authenticated and to display the account information for apredetermined time interval when the payment card is authenticated; asensor coupled to the processor and configured to capture biometricinformation of a user; and a communication interface coupled to theprocessor and configured to facilitate wireless communication with amobile smart phone. The processor is configured to: transmit, via thecommunication interface, a request for a proposed transaction to beexecuted by using the payment card to the mobile smart phone; transmit,via the communication interface, the captured biometric information tothe mobile smart phone; receive, via the communication interface, anauthentication for a use of the payment card for executing the proposedtransaction; and cause the display area to display the accountinformation for the predetermined interval of time based on the receivedauthentication.

The sensor may include at least one from among a fingerprint scanner, acamera configured to capture a facial image, an iris scanner, a heatsignature reader, a pressure point reader, a motion sensor, and agyroscope.

The communication interface may include at least one from among aBluetooth chip, a near field communication (NFC) chip, and a radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip.

The payment card may further include a charging cell configured towirelessly generate power for consumption by the payment card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in the detailed descriptionwhich follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings, by wayof non-limiting examples of preferred embodiments of the presentdisclosure, in which like characters represent like elements throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a network environment.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary system for implementing a method for securelyand accurately authenticating a payment card by using biometricinformation associated with an authorized user.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for implementing a methodfor securely and accurately authenticating a payment card by usingbiometric information associated with an authorized user.

FIG. 5 is a component diagram of a payment card that implements a methodfor securely and accurately authenticating a payment card by usingbiometric information associated with a user, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram that illustrates the payment card of FIG. 5 with adisplay of card information that is provided as a result of a successfulauthentication, according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Through one or more of its various aspects, embodiments and/or specificfeatures or sub-components of the present disclosure, are intended tobring out one or more of the advantages as specifically described aboveand noted below.

The examples may also be embodied as one or more non-transitory computerreadable media having instructions stored thereon for one or moreaspects of the present technology as described and illustrated by way ofthe examples herein. The instructions in some examples includeexecutable code that, when executed by one or more processors, cause theprocessors to carry out steps necessary to implement the methods of theexamples of this technology that are described and illustrated herein.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system for use in accordance with the embodimentsdescribed herein. The system 100 is generally shown and may include acomputer system 102, which is generally indicated.

The computer system 102 may include a set of instructions that can beexecuted to cause the computer system 102 to perform any one or more ofthe methods or computer-based functions disclosed herein, either aloneor in combination with the other described devices. The computer system102 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected to othersystems or peripheral devices. For example, the computer system 102 mayinclude, or be included within, any one or more computers, servers,systems, communication networks or cloud environment. Even further, theinstructions may be operative in such cloud-based computing environment.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 102 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, a client user computer in a cloud computingenvironment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The computer system 102, or portionsthereof, may be implemented as, or incorporated into, various devices,such as a personal computer, a tablet computer, a set-top box, apersonal digital assistant, a mobile device, a palmtop computer, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesssmart phone, a personal trusted device, a wearable device, a globalpositioning satellite (GPS) device, a web appliance, or any othermachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while a single computer system 102 is illustrated, additionalembodiments may include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute instructions or perform functions. Theterm “system” shall be taken throughout the present disclosure toinclude any collection of systems or sub- systems that individually orjointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform oneor more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the computer system 102 may include at leastone processor 104. The processor 104 is tangible and non-transitory. Asused herein, the term “non-transitory” is to be interpreted not as aneternal characteristic of a state, but as a characteristic of a statethat will last for a period of time. The term “non-transitory”specifically disavows fleeting characteristics such as characteristicsof a particular carrier wave or signal or other forms that exist onlytransitorily in any place at any time. The processor 104 is an articleof manufacture and/or a machine component. The processor 104 isconfigured to execute software instructions in order to performfunctions as described in the various embodiments herein. The processor104 may be a general-purpose processor or may be part of an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 104 may also be amicroprocessor, a microcomputer, a processor chip, a controller, amicrocontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a state machine, or aprogrammable logic device. The processor 104 may also be a logicalcircuit, including a programmable gate array (PGA) such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), or another type of circuit that includesdiscrete gate and/or transistor logic. The processor 104 may be acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), orboth. Additionally, any processor described herein may include multipleprocessors, parallel processors, or both. Multiple processors may beincluded in, or coupled to, a single device or multiple devices.

The computer system 102 may also include a computer memory 106. Thecomputer memory 106 may include a static memory, a dynamic memory, orboth in communication. Memories described herein are tangible storagemediums that can store data as well as executable instructions and arenon-transitory during the time instructions are stored therein. Again,as used herein, the term “non-transitory” is to be interpreted not as aneternal characteristic of a state, but as a characteristic of a statethat will last for a period of time. The term “non-transitory”specifically disavows fleeting characteristics such as characteristicsof a particular carrier wave or signal or other forms that exist onlytransitorily in any place at any time. The memories are an article ofmanufacture and/or machine component. Memories described herein arecomputer-readable mediums from which data and executable instructionscan be read by a computer. Memories as described herein may be randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, electricallyprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a cache,a removable disk, tape, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, blu-ray disk, or any other form ofstorage medium known in the art. Memories may be volatile ornon-volatile, secure and/or encrypted, unsecure and/or unencrypted. Ofcourse, the computer memory 106 may comprise any combination of memoriesor a single storage.

The computer system 102 may further include a display 108, such as aliquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), aflat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), aplasma display, or any other type of display, examples of which are wellknown to skilled persons.

The computer system 102 may also include at least one input device 110,such as a keyboard, a touch-sensitive input screen or pad, a speechinput, a mouse, a remote control device having a wireless keypad, amicrophone coupled to a speech recognition engine, a camera such as avideo camera or still camera, a cursor control device, a globalpositioning system (GPS) device, an altimeter, a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a proximity sensor, or any combination thereof. Thoseskilled in the art appreciate that various embodiments of the computersystem 102 may include multiple input devices 110. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art further appreciate that the above-listed, exemplaryinput devices 110 are not meant to be exhaustive and that the computersystem 102 may include any additional, or alternative, input devices110.

The computer system 102 may also include a medium reader 112 which isconfigured to read any one or more sets of instructions, e.g. software,from any of the memories described herein. The instructions, whenexecuted by a processor, can be used to perform one or more of themethods and processes as described herein. In a particular embodiment,the instructions may reside completely, or at least partially, withinthe memory 106, the medium reader 112, and/or the processor 110 duringexecution by the computer system 102.

Furthermore, the computer system 102 may include any additional devices,components, parts, peripherals, hardware, software or any combinationthereof which are commonly known and understood as being included withor within a computer system, such as, but not limited to, a networkinterface 114 and an output device 116. The output device 116 may be,but is not limited to, a speaker, an audio out, a video out, aremote-control output, a printer, or any combination thereof.

Each of the components of the computer system 102 may be interconnectedand communicate via a bus 118 or other communication link. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the components may each be interconnected andcommunicate via an internal bus. However, those skilled in the artappreciate that any of the components may also be connected via anexpansion bus. Moreover, the bus 118 may enable communication via anystandard or other specification commonly known and understood such as,but not limited to, peripheral component interconnect, peripheralcomponent interconnect express, parallel advanced technology attachment,serial advanced technology attachment, etc.

The computer system 102 may be in communication with one or moreadditional computer devices 120 via a network 122. The network 122 maybe, but is not limited to, a local area network, a wide area network,the Internet, a telephony network, a short-range network, or any othernetwork commonly known and understood in the art. The short-rangenetwork may include, for example, Bluetooth, Zigbee, infrared, nearfield communication, ultraband, or any combination thereof. Thoseskilled in the art appreciate that additional networks 122 which areknown and understood may additionally or alternatively be used and thatthe exemplary networks 122 are not limiting or exhaustive. Also, whilethe network 122 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a wireless network, thoseskilled in the art appreciate that the network 122 may also be a wirednetwork.

The additional computer device 120 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as apersonal computer. However, those skilled in the art appreciate that, inalternative embodiments of the present application, the computer device120 may be a laptop computer, a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant,a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a desktop computer, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a personal trusted device,a web appliance, a server, or any other device that is capable ofexecuting a set of instructions, sequential or otherwise, that specifyactions to be taken by that device. Of course, those skilled in the artappreciate that the above-listed devices are merely exemplary devicesand that the device 120 may be any additional device or apparatuscommonly known and understood in the art without departing from thescope of the present application. For example, the computer device 120may be the same or similar to the computer system 102. Furthermore,those skilled in the art similarly understand that the device may be anycombination of devices and apparatuses.

Of course, those skilled in the art appreciate that the above-listedcomponents of the computer system 102 are merely meant to be exemplaryand are not intended to be exhaustive and/or inclusive. Furthermore, theexamples of the components listed above are also meant to be exemplaryand similarly are not meant to be exhaustive and/or inclusive.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented using a hardware computersystem that executes software programs. Further, in an exemplary,non-limited embodiment, implementations can include distributedprocessing, component/object distributed processing, and parallelprocessing. Virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionalities as describedherein, and a processor described herein may be used to support avirtual processing environment.

As described herein, various embodiments provide optimized methods andsystems for securely and accurately authenticating a payment card byusing biometric information associated with an authorized user.

Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic of an exemplary network environment 200for implementing a method for securely and accurately authenticating apayment card by using biometric information associated with anauthorized user is illustrated. In an exemplary embodiment, the methodis executable on any networked computer platform, such as, for example,a personal computer (PC).

The method for securely and accurately authenticating a payment card byusing biometric information associated with an authorized user may beimplemented by a Payment Card Biometric Authentication (PCBA) device202. The PCBA device 202 may be the same or similar to the computersystem 102 as described with respect to FIG. 1. The PCBA device 202 maystore one or more applications that can include executable instructionsthat, when executed by the PCBA device 202, cause the PCBA device 202 toperform actions, such as to transmit, receive, or otherwise processnetwork messages, for example, and to perform other actions describedand illustrated below with reference to the figures. The application(s)may be implemented as modules or components of other applications.Further, the application(s) can be implemented as operating systemextensions, modules, plugins, or the like.

Even further, the application(s) may be operative in a cloud-basedcomputing environment. The application(s) may be executed within or asvirtual machine(s) or virtual server(s) that may be managed in acloud-based computing environment. Also, the application(s), and eventhe PCBA device 202 itself, may be located in virtual server(s) runningin a cloud-based computing environment rather than being tied to one ormore specific physical network computing devices. Also, theapplication(s) may be running in one or more virtual machines (VMs)executing on the PCBA device 202. Additionally, in one or moreembodiments of this technology, virtual machine(s) running on the PCBAdevice 202 may be managed or supervised by a hypervisor.

In the network environment 200 of FIG. 2, the PCBA device 202 is coupledto a plurality of server devices 204(1)-204(n) that hosts a plurality ofdatabases 206(1)-206(n), and also to a plurality of client devices208(1)-208(n) via communication network(s) 210. A communicationinterface of the PCBA device 202, such as the network interface 114 ofthe computer system 102 of FIG. 1, operatively couples and communicatesbetween the PCBA device 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), and/orthe client devices 208(1)-208(n), which are all coupled together by thecommunication network(s) 210, although other types and/or numbers ofcommunication networks or systems with other types and/or numbers ofconnections and/or configurations to other devices and/or elements mayalso be used.

The communication network(s) 210 may be the same or similar to thenetwork 122 as described with respect to FIG. 1, although the PCBAdevice 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), and/or the client devices208(1)-208(n) may be coupled together via other topologies.Additionally, the network environment 200 may include other networkdevices such as one or more routers and/or switches, for example, whichare well known in the art and thus will not be described herein. Thistechnology provides a number of advantages including methods,non-transitory computer readable media, and PCBA devices thatefficiently implement a method for securely and accuratelyauthenticating a payment card by using biometric information associatedwith an authorized user.

By way of example only, the communication network(s) 210 may includelocal area network(s) (LAN(s)) or wide area network(s) (WAN(s)), and canuse TCP/IP over Ethernet and industry-standard protocols, although othertypes and/or numbers of protocols and/or communication networks may beused. The communication network(s) 210 in this example may employ anysuitable interface mechanisms and network communication technologiesincluding, for example, teletraffic in any suitable form (e.g., voice,modem, and the like), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTNs),Ethernet-based Packet Data Networks (PDNs), combinations thereof, andthe like.

The PCBA device 202 may be a standalone device or integrated with one ormore other devices or apparatuses, such as one or more of the serverdevices 204(1)-204(n), for example. In one particular example, the PCBAdevice 202 may include or be hosted by one of the server devices204(1)-204(n), and other arrangements are also possible. Moreover, oneor more of the devices of the PCBA device 202 may be in a same or adifferent communication network including one or more public, private,or cloud networks, for example.

The plurality of server devices 204(1)-204(n) may be the same or similarto the computer system 102 or the computer device 120 as described withrespect to FIG. 1, including any features or combination of featuresdescribed with respect thereto. For example, any of the server devices204(1)-204(n) may include, among other features, one or more processors,a memory, and a communication interface, which are coupled together by abus or other communication link, although other numbers and/or types ofnetwork devices may be used. The server devices 204(1)-204(n) in thisexample may process requests received from the PCBA device 202 via thecommunication network(s) 210 according to the HTTP-based and/orJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) protocol, for example, although otherprotocols may also be used.

The server devices 204(1)-204(n) may be hardware or software or mayrepresent a system with multiple servers in a pool, which may includeinternal or external networks. The server devices 204(1)-204(n) hoststhe databases 206(1)-206(n) that are configured to store data thatrelates to user-specific biometric data that is usable forauthenticating a user of a payment card.

Although the server devices 204(1)-204(n) are illustrated as singledevices, one or more actions of each of the server devices 204(1)-204(n)may be distributed across one or more distinct network computing devicesthat together comprise one or more of the server devices 204(1)-204(n).Moreover, the server devices 204(1)-204(n) are not limited to aparticular configuration. Thus, the server devices 204(1)-204(n) maycontain a plurality of network computing devices that operate using amaster/slave approach, whereby one of the network computing devices ofthe server devices 204(1)-204(n) operates to manage and/or otherwisecoordinate operations of the other network computing devices.

The server devices 204(1)-204(n) may operate as a plurality of networkcomputing devices within a cluster architecture, a peer-to peerarchitecture, virtual machines, or within a cloud architecture, forexample. Thus, the technology disclosed herein is not to be construed asbeing limited to a single environment and other configurations andarchitectures are also envisaged.

The plurality of client devices 208(1)-208(n) may also be the same orsimilar to the computer system 102 or the computer device 120 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1, including any features or combinationof features described with respect thereto. For example, the clientdevices 208(1)-208(n) in this example may include any type of computingdevice that can interact with the PCBA device 202 via communicationnetwork(s) 210. Accordingly, the client devices 208(1)-208(n) may bemobile computing devices, desktop computing devices, laptop computingdevices, tablet computing devices, virtual machines (includingcloud-based computers), or the like, that host chat, e-mail, orvoice-to-text applications, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, atleast one client device 208 is a wireless mobile communication device,i.e., a smart phone.

The client devices 208(1)-208(n) may run interface applications, such asstandard web browsers or standalone client applications, which mayprovide an interface to communicate with the PCBA device 202 via thecommunication network(s) 210 in order to communicate user requests andinformation. The client devices 208(1)-208(n) may further include, amongother features, a display device, such as a display screen ortouchscreen, and/or an input device, such as a keyboard, for example.The client devices 208(1)-208(n) may also include a payment card thathas a mechanism for capturing biometric data of a person that ishandling the payment card.

Although the exemplary network environment 200 with the PCBA device 202,the server devices 204(1)-204(n), the client devices 208(1)-208(n), andthe communication network(s) 210 are described and illustrated herein,other types and/or numbers of systems, devices, components, and/orelements in other topologies may be used. It is to be understood thatthe systems of the examples described herein are for exemplary purposes,as many variations of the specific hardware and software used toimplement the examples are possible, as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the relevant art(s).

One or more of the devices depicted in the network environment 200, suchas the PCBA device 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), or the clientdevices 208(1)-208(n), for example, may be configured to operate asvirtual instances on the same physical machine. In other words, one ormore of the PCBA device 202, the server devices 204(1)-204(n), or theclient devices 208(1)-208(n) may operate on the same physical devicerather than as separate devices communicating through communicationnetwork(s) 210. Additionally, there may be more or fewer PCBA devices202, server devices 204(1)-204(n), or client devices 208(1)-208(n) thanillustrated in FIG. 2.

In addition, two or more computing systems or devices may be substitutedfor any one of the systems or devices in any example. Accordingly,principles and advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancyand replication also may be implemented, as desired, to increase therobustness and performance of the devices and systems of the examples.The examples may also be implemented on computer system(s) that extendacross any suitable network using any suitable interface mechanisms andtraffic technologies, including by way of example only teletraffic inany suitable form (e.g., voice and modem), wireless traffic networks,cellular traffic networks, Packet Data Networks (PDNs), the Internet,intranets, and combinations thereof.

The PCBA device 202 is described and illustrated in FIG. 3 as includinga payment card biometric authentication module 302, although it mayinclude other rules, policies, modules, databases, or applications, forexample. As will be described below, the payment card biometricauthentication management module 302 is configured to implement a methodfor securely and accurately authenticating a payment card by usingbiometric information associated with an authorized user.

An exemplary process 300 for implementing a mechanism for securely andaccurately authenticating a payment card by using biometric informationassociated with an authorized user by utilizing the network environmentof FIG. 2 is illustrated as being executed in FIG. 3. Specifically, afirst client device 208(1) and a second client device 208(2) areillustrated as being in communication with PCBA device 202. In thisregard, the first client device 208(1) and the second client device208(2) may be “clients” of the PCBA device 202 and are described hereinas such. Nevertheless, it is to be known and understood that the firstclient device 208(1) and/or the second client device 208(2) need notnecessarily be “clients” of the PCBA device 202, or any entity describedin association therewith herein. Any additional or alternativerelationship may exist between either or both of the first client device208(1) and the second client device 208(2) and the PCBA device 202, orno relationship may exist.

Further, PCBA device 202 is illustrated as being able to access apayment card transaction history data repository 206(1) and acardholder-specific biometric information database 206(2). Theautonomous investment portfolio management module 302 may be configuredto access these databases for implementing a method for securely andaccurately authenticating a payment card by using biometric informationassociated with an authorized user.

The first client device 208(1) may be, for example, a smart phone. Ofcourse, the first client device 208(1) may be any additional devicedescribed herein. The second client device 208(2) may be, for example, apayment card that is Bluetooth enabled and also includes a mechanism forcapturing biometric data. Of course, the second client device 208(2) mayalso be any additional device described herein.

The process may be executed via the communication network(s) 210, whichmay comprise plural networks as described above. For example, in anexemplary embodiment, either or both of the first client device 208(1)and the second client device 208(2) may communicate with the PCBA device202 via broadband or cellular communication. Of course, theseembodiments are merely exemplary and are not limiting or exhaustive.

Upon being started, the payment card biometric authentication module 302executes a process for securely and accurately authenticating a paymentcard by using biometric information associated with an authorized user.An exemplary process for securely and accurately authenticating apayment card by using biometric information associated with anauthorized user is generally indicated at flowchart 400 in FIG. 4.

In process 400 of FIG. 4, at step S402, a request to execute a proposedtransaction by using a payment card is transmitted and received. In anexemplary embodiment, the payment card is swiped, dipped, or tapped at apoint-of-sale device in order to generate the request, which is thentransmitted to the payment card biometric authentication module 302.Alternatively, the payment card may include a Bluetooth chip, anear-field communication (NFC) chip, or a radio frequency identification(RFID) chip, any of which may be used to transmit the request to amobile smart phone or other suitable device that is located within rangeof the payment card.

At step S404, biometric information of a user of the payment card iscaptured. In an exemplary embodiment, the payment card includes asensor, such as, for example, any one or more of a fingerprint scanner,a camera, an iris scanner, a heat signature reader, a motion sensor, agyroscope, and/or a pressure point reader. The camera may be usable forcapturing a facial image of the user for purposes of performing a facialrecognition operation. The payment card may use a motion sensor, agyroscope, or a similar capture device to monitor the user's overallmovement to determine who is in possession of the card. This would thengenerate a score indicating an amount of time that a person with aparticular movement profile has been in possession of the payment card.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the biometric information of theuser may be captured by using another device that is different from thepayment card. For example, a mobile smart phone and/or a cellulartelephone may be used to capture a fingerprint of the user, a facialimage of the user, and/or other types of biometric information. In thiscircumstance, the payment card biometric authentication module 302 maybe configured to recognize that the user's payment card is associatedwith a particular mobile smart phone to be used for capturing the user'sbiometric information. In addition, other types of devices that areequipped with biometric sensors may be used for capturing the biometricinformation. For example, a vehicle, such as an automobile, amotorcycle, or a bicycle, and/or a device that is connected to anInternet of Things (IoT) network may be usable for capturing thebiometric information.

At step S406, the payment card biometric authentication module 302compares the captured biometric information with previously storedbiometric information that is associated with at least one authorizedcardholder. In this aspect, when the present user of the payment card isthe same person as the authorized cardholder for whom biometricinformation has previously been stored, the captured biometricinformation will match the previously stored information, and then, atstep S408, the user is authenticated and the proposed transaction isauthorized. However, when the comparison between the captured biometricinformation and the stored biometric information results in a non-match,then the request to execute the proposed transaction may be denied bythe payment card biometric authentication module 302.

In an exemplary embodiment, the captured biometric information may beusable for authenticating the user for a predetermined amount of time,such that after the predetermined amount of time elapses, the ability toexecute the proposed transaction expires, and the payment card isdisabled. The predetermined amount of time may be user configurable,i.e., the user may be able to specify an amount of time based onconvenience and security. For example, if the user would like to enablethe payment card in advance of a shopping excursion, the user mayprovide an input of one hour, two hours, or longer, so that the paymentcard can be conveniently used throughout the excursion without a needfor additional user authentications and/or transaction authorizations.Conversely, if the user is ready to execute a transaction and is notexpecting to make any additional transactions in the near future, theuser may provide an input of 5 minutes, 60 seconds, or 15 seconds, inorder to ensure that the payment card is usable for only a short time,thereby increasing security.

When the user has been authenticated at step S408, then, at step S410,the payment card biometric authentication module 302 causes accountinformation to become visible on a face of the payment card for apredetermined interval of time. In this aspect, the payment card mayinclude a display that is generally blank, such that the accountinformation is generally not visible, but is able to become visiblebased on the authentication of the user. The predetermined interval oftime may be selected in advance so as to balance security with consumerconvenience. For example, the predetermined interval of time may be 60seconds, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, one hour, or any other suitable amountof time.

FIG. 5 is a component diagram 500 of a payment card that implements amethod for securely and accurately authenticating a payment card byusing biometric information associated with a user, according to anexemplary embodiment. As illustrated in the component diagram 500, thepayment card includes a display area that appears blank; a fingerprintscanner; a charging cell/solar panel; and a Bluetooth chip. In anexemplary embodiment, in a default mode, the display area isintentionally blank for security purposes.

The fingerprint scanner is configured to enable a user of the paymentcard to use a finger to provide biometric information to be used forauthenticating the user. In other exemplary embodiments, the paymentcard may include other types of sensors, such as, for example, a cameraconfigured to capture a facial image of the user, a heat signaturereader, an iris scanner, and/or a pressure point reader,

The Bluetooth chip acts as a communication interface to enablecommunications with other devices, such as mobile smart phones and/orpoint-of-sale devices. In other exemplary embodiments, the payment cardmay include other types of communication interfaces, such as anear-field communication (NFC) chip and/or a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) chip. The charging cell is configured to generatepower to be consumed by the payment card in order to perform thefunctions of capturing biometric information and communicating withother devices.

FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 that illustrates the payment card of FIG. 5 witha display of card information that is provided as a result of asuccessful authentication, according to an exemplary embodiment. Asillustrated in the diagram 600, when the user of the payment card hasbeen authenticated as a result of a successful verification that thecaptured biometric information matches the previously stored biometricinformation of an authorized cardholder, the display area is enabled todisplay account information that relates to the payment card for apredetermined time interval. In an exemplary embodiment, the accountinformation may include a name of the authorized cardholder, an accountnumber, an expiration date, and a security code, and/or any other typesof account information deemed suitable for temporary display inconjunction with an execution of a transaction.

Accordingly, with this technology, an optimized process for securely andaccurately authenticating a payment card by using biometric informationassociated with an authorized user is provided.

Although the invention has been described with reference to severalexemplary embodiments, it is understood that the words that have beenused are words of description and illustration, rather than words oflimitation. Changes may be made within the purview of the appendedclaims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from thescope and spirit of the present disclosure in its aspects. Although theinvention has been described with reference to particular means,materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limitedto the particulars disclosed; rather the invention extends to allfunctionally equivalent structures, methods, and uses such as are withinthe scope of the appended claims.

For example, while the computer-readable medium may be described as asingle medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a singlemedium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set ofinstructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computersystem to perform any one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein.

The computer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or media and/or comprise a transitorycomputer-readable medium or media. In a particular non-limiting,exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium can include asolid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that housesone or more non-volatile read-only memories. Further, thecomputer-readable medium can be a random-access memory or other volatilere-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium caninclude a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes orother storage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signalcommunicated over a transmission medium. Accordingly, the disclosure isconsidered to include any computer-readable medium or other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Although the present application describes specific embodiments whichmay be implemented as computer programs or code segments incomputer-readable media, it is to be understood that dedicated hardwareimplementations, such as application specific integrated circuits,programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructedto implement one or more of the embodiments described herein.Applications that may include the various embodiments set forth hereinmay broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems.Accordingly, the present application may encompass software, firmware,and hardware implementations, or combinations thereof. Nothing in thepresent application should be interpreted as being implemented orimplementable solely with software and not hardware.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited tosuch standards and protocols. Such standards are periodically supersededby faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the samefunctions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having thesame or similar functions are considered equivalents thereof

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the various embodiments. Theillustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of allthe elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize thestructures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, suchthat structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, theillustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, whileother proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and thefigures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is submitted with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, variousfeatures may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may bedirected to less than all of the features of any of the disclosedembodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into theDetailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as definingseparately claimed subject matter.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims, and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for authenticating a payment card byusing biometric information associated with an authorized user, themethod being implemented by at least one processor, the methodcomprising: receiving, by the at least one processor, a request for aproposed transaction to be executed by using a payment card; capturing,by the at least one processor, biometric information from a user;comparing, by the at least one processor, the captured biometricinformation with stored information that relates to a predeterminedperson; when the captured biometric information is determined asmatching the stored information, authenticating, by the at least oneprocessor, a use of the payment card for the proposed transaction; andwhen the captured biometric information is determined as not matchingthe stored information, denying, by the at least one processor, therequest for the proposed transaction.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe capturing of the biometric information comprises at least one fromamong capturing a fingerprint of the user, capturing a facial image ofthe user, capturing an iris scan of the user, capturing a heat signatureof the user, capturing a motion of the user, and capturing a relativeorientation of the user by using a gyroscope.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein when the use of the payment card is authenticated, the methodfurther comprises: causing the authentication to expire after anelapsement of a first predetermined time interval; and disabling the useof the payment card when the authentication has expired.
 4. The methodof claim 3, further comprising receiving a user input that relates tospecifying an amount of time as the first predetermined time interval.5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing accountinformation that relates to the payment card to not be visible on a faceof the payment card; and when the use of the payment card for theproposed transaction is authenticated, causing the account informationto be visible on the face of the payment card for a second predeterminedtime interval.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the account informationincludes at least one from among a cardholder name, an account number,an expiration date of the payment card, and a security code associatedwith the payment card.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the secondpredetermined time interval is less than or equal to 60 seconds.
 8. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising comparing first account datastored on a mobile smart phone with the account information that relatesto the payment card, and validating the first account data based on aresult of the comparing.
 9. A computing apparatus for authenticating apayment card by using biometric information associated with anauthorized user, the computing apparatus comprising: a processor; amemory; and a communication interface coupled to each of the processorand the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: receive, via thecommunication interface, a request for a proposed transaction to beexecuted by using a payment card; capture biometric information from auser; compare the captured biometric information with stored informationthat relates to a predetermined person; when the captured biometricinformation is determined as matching the stored information,authenticate a use of the payment card for the proposed transaction; andwhen the captured biometric information is determined as not matchingthe stored information, deny the request for the proposed transaction.10. The computing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to capture, as the biometric information, at least one fromamong a fingerprint of the user, a facial image of the user, an irisscan of the user, a heat signature of the user, a motion of the user,and a relative orientation of the user as indicated by a gyroscope. 11.The computing apparatus of claim 9, wherein when the use of the paymentcard is authenticated, the processor is further configured to: cause theauthentication to expire after an elapsement of a first predeterminedtime interval; and disable the use of the payment card when theauthentication has expired.
 12. The computing apparatus of claim 11,wherein the processor is further configured to receive, via thecommunication interface, a user input that relates to specifying anamount of time as the first predetermined time interval.
 13. Thecomputing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: cause account information that relates to the paymentcard to not be visible on a face of the payment card; and when the useof the payment card for the proposed transaction is authenticated, causethe account information to be visible on the face of the payment cardfor a second predetermined time interval.
 14. The computing apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the account information includes at least one fromamong a cardholder name, an account number, an expiration date of thepayment card, and a security code associated with the payment card. 15.The computing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the second predeterminedtime interval is less than or equal to 60 seconds.
 16. The computingapparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:compare first account data stored on a mobile smart phone with theaccount information that relates to the payment card; and validate thefirst account data based on a result of the comparison.
 17. A paymentcard for executing a transaction by using an account, comprising: aprocessor; a display area coupled to the processor and configured tohide account information when the payment card has not beenauthenticated and to display the account information for a predeterminedtime interval when the payment card is authenticated; a sensor coupledto the processor and configured to capture biometric information of auser; and a communication interface coupled to the processor andconfigured to facilitate wireless communication with a mobile smartphone, wherein the processor is configured to: transmit, via thecommunication interface, a request for a proposed transaction to beexecuted by using the payment card to the mobile smart phone; transmit,via the communication interface, the captured biometric information tothe mobile smart phone; receive, via the communication interface, anauthentication for a use of the payment card for executing the proposedtransaction; and cause the display area to display the accountinformation for the predetermined interval of time based on the receivedauthentication.
 18. The payment card of claim 17, wherein the sensorcomprises at least one from among a fingerprint scanner, a cameraconfigured to capture a facial image, an iris scanner, a heat signaturereader, a pressure point reader, a motion sensor, and a gyroscope. 19.The payment card of claim 17, wherein the communication interfacecomprises at least one from among a Bluetooth chip, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) chip, and a radio frequency identification (RFID)chip.
 20. The payment card of claim 17, further comprising a chargingcell configured to wirelessly generate power for consumption by thepayment card.